Henri Léopold Lévy

with Colin Stodgell Fine Art

Private collection

Anonymous sale: Christie's, South Kensington, 10 September 2015, lot 63

Where acquired by the present owner

Dionysus and Ariadne formed a pair with another canvas, identical in size and format, showing Aphrodite and Eros. Ariadne, stranded on the island of Naxos after having helped Theseus escape the Labyrinth, was rescued by Dionysus, whom she then married. Here, Dionysus is surrounded by reveling Maenads with frolicking putti flying overhead. The inclusion of the leopard at Dionysus' feet suggests that he had returned from the East, as described by Ovid in The Metamorphoses.